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Topic: The Sports Thread (Read 606167 times)

Congratulations. You did something you're being paid obscene amounts of money to do. You caught a pass. That's great. Now act like you've done it before, get up, and go back to the huddle. You don't have to celebrate after every single catch.

Greetings in that Divine and Most Precious Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Did I mention I HATE the Steelers? So Heyward-Bey in Oakland was just about to score a great TD, so two Pittsburgh defenders play dirty and double crack him, getting helmet to face contact and knocked Darrius out cold for ten minutes. He was out like a light before he even hit the ground, and while the entire country is watching in silence waiting to see if he can even wake up, the Pittsburgh coaches are laughing it up and smiling cracking jokes on the sidelines. That is straight EVIL, even against the penalty heavy Raiders!!

I hope the Ravens eat you for breakfast in November dirty dirty dirty Steelers, that is why nobody aside from bandwagon nobodies actually likes the Steelers, we all know they cheat and are ruthlessly dirty on the field. Troy should be a true Orthodox and switch teams from those crooked dudes, he is only embarrassing himself over there being about the only bright soul on an otherwise vindictive roster.

stay blessed,habte selassie

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

After what happened in New Orleans, there should be a suspension because the coaches were yucking it up. Even most the the Steelers team took a knee and were looking pensive, like a big bully who just went to far, and yet the coaches are laughing? Laughing!! While Darrius was laid out unconscious for almost TEN MINUTES!!!

That was officially one of the ugliest things I've ever seen in football, and I am a Ravens fan, and I've seen plenty of ugly Ravens-Steelers games

stay blessed,habte selassie

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

After what happened in New Orleans, there should be a suspension because the coaches were yucking it up. Even most the the Steelers team took a knee and were looking pensive, like a big bully who just went to far, and yet the coaches are laughing? Laughing!! While Darrius was laid out unconscious for almost TEN MINUTES!!!

That was officially one of the ugliest things I've ever seen in football, and I am a Ravens fan, and I've seen plenty of ugly Ravens-Steelers games

stay blessed,habte selassie

I doubt they were smliing about Bey laying on the ground. Also it was 7-9 mins into him laying on the ground.

Actually Thiesmans ankle snapping was probably the ugliest thing ever to happen on the field. Especially in slow motion.

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“There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.”

After what happened in New Orleans, there should be a suspension because the coaches were yucking it up. Even most the the Steelers team took a knee and were looking pensive, like a big bully who just went to far, and yet the coaches are laughing? Laughing!! While Darrius was laid out unconscious for almost TEN MINUTES!!!

That was officially one of the ugliest things I've ever seen in football, and I am a Ravens fan, and I've seen plenty of ugly Ravens-Steelers games

stay blessed,habte selassie

I doubt they were smliing about Bey laying on the ground. Also it was 7-9 mins into him laying on the ground.

Actually Thiesmans ankle snapping was probably the ugliest thing ever to happen on the field. Especially in slow motion.

Even with Troy and Harrison out of the lineup, that doesn't excuse the defense for giving up 34 points, they crapped the bed big on this one. Completely awful. I don't know if I can defend Ryan Mundy even being on the field any longer (let alone team).

« Last Edit: September 23, 2012, 08:59:53 PM by Achronos »

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“There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.”

Even with Troy and Harrison out of the lineup, that doesn't excuse the defense for giving up 34 points, they crapped the bed big on this one. Completely awful. I don't know if I can defend Ryan Mundy even being on the field any longer (let alone team).

In Oakland's defense, this game was so crazy offensively (Big Ben almost had 500 yards) that they are lucky that Steelers didn't score 45 points!! It is weird to say that defense really won this game for Raiders, because of course even just that thought would cause Al Davis to roll in his grave!

Its not that I think the coaches were laughing at Heyward-Bey, its that even the teams had all been quiet the entire time, and Darrius didn't even say a word for 9 solid minutes, think about that for a minute. A player is out cold and coaches got time to tell unrelated jokes on national television?

Again fines are appropriate because those were clearly leading with the helmet by both Pittsburgh players, they are quite literally lucky they didn't seriously hurt him, and to be honest, we don't even know yet if they did

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A lot of flags in this game, which disrupted the flow of the action, and some were certainly questionable (for both teams). On a night when the focus should have been squarely on two of the AFC’s best teams, the third “team” on the field was a big part of the story. Hard to imagine the NFL was pleased.

ESPN Rapid Reaction

In regards to this Ravens game, my team won and yet still I am completely upset, with the officiating, with the coaching, with several of the players, essentially that entire game was trash, and we should all forget it ever happened, even with Baltimore getting the eventual win, the game was so crooked in so many directions I am so confused that I don't quite remember who was what! It was a true Tim Donaghy moment

stay blessed,habte selassie

« Last Edit: September 24, 2012, 01:15:55 AM by HabteSelassie »

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

In regards to this Ravens game, my team won and yet still I am completely upset, with the officiating, with the coaching, with several of the players, essentially that entire game was trash, and we should all forget it ever happened, even with Baltimore getting the eventual win, the game was so crooked in so many directions I am so confused that I don't quite remember who was what! It was a true Tim Donaghy moment

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Salted throughout all this action, of course, were bizarre holding calls, odd interference calls, some purely psychedelic calls, and a game-winning field goal that was so close that, all his frustrations coming to a boil, New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork looked very much like he might eat one of the referees who were standing under the goal posts.

Grantland.com

By the way, from that same article, I have learned my lesson with this Steelers-Ravens-Raiders rivalry which is indeed the ugliest in football. I let that very bad play against Heyward-Bey get me too upset based on my rivalry experience against Pittsburgh, but if Torrey Smith after losing his brother in a tragic accident can come out, and play miraculously good game against both the other team AND the terrifyingly inept officials and in the end still find time to big-up the Steelers, that is heart right there. I tip my hat to Pittsburgh just at least this once

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"It was weird," Smith said, "having so many people who were showing their support from afar, from guys on the Steelers that I don't even know. I saw something that LaMarr Woodley did, and I appreciate that a lot. The fact that we're on rival teams, you know, and football is a war every time we get together, that he would go out of his way and even say a prayer for me and my family. That meant a lot for my family.

To say the Steelers are rival teams and when they meet the Ravens is war is the understatement of the year, and yet, these guys are just co-workers even if in a dangerous career, and co-workers as in any place need to be able to get along at the end of it all and support each other as a community. We as sports fans should be able to do the same.

stay blessed,habte selassie

« Last Edit: September 24, 2012, 04:11:12 PM by HabteSelassie »

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

I was just reading the play-by-play, whats the controversy? From what I was following, that stout Seattle defense who had choked Packers to field goals all night choked Green Bay to a pun in the final minute, and Seattle picked it up with 50-something seconds at GB 46. Russell Wilson with the poise of any elite QB drove it to a long 4 and 10 at Green Bay 26 to get a winning TD in the literal final play in final 8 seconds! How much better can that get? Then again, after that Tim Donoghy officiating last night in Baltimore, I could imagine

stay blessed,habte selassie

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

There was a non-call of blatant offensive pass interference (though that was certainly not the only missed call in that last drive); also, it looked like Green Bay intercepted the ball in the end zone, with the Seattle guy merely trying to rip the ball away, but instead of that it got called a Seattle touchdown.

Fine by me. I have a (probably unfair) dislike for the Pack due to every GB fan I personally know being super... can't say the word I want to out here in public.

On second thought- as a Giants fan, it's sweet, sweet payback to see GB get jacked by refs after last year's horrible regular season game with Ballard's denied TD, and the GB "TD" that wasn't. Not to mention their "better team lost" smack talk after we beat them in the playoffs. Forget the annoying fans I know... It seems I just hate GB.

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"For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide, even to the end." Psalm 48:14

There was a non-call of blatant offensive pass interference (though that was certainly not the only missed call in that last drive); also, it looked like Green Bay intercepted the ball in the end zone, with the Seattle guy merely trying to rip the ball away, but instead of that it got called a Seattle touchdown.

I agree completely with Pete Carroll on this one

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"From what I understood from the officials it was a simultaneous catch. Tie goes to the runner. Good call," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.

ESPN recap

While I agree that is indeed controversial, perhaps the most I've seen in years, these scoring drives are reviewed upstairs, so its not entirely on the back up refs call. Further, in these kind of plays where everybody touches it in the air, it comes down to several factors of control, and while Jennings was on top of the pile, Tate had also clearly had the football in his hands in the air, and Jennings was obstructing his ability to bring it in, and Tate further never took two hands off the ball, so I can see why that was considered a score, but indeed, that is perhaps the more controversial play I've seen in a long long time. Folks are crying fowl about Raven's FG last night, but when I saw one replay from the deep left underside it was clearly inside the posts, much less debatable then this TB here.

stay blessed,habte selassie

« Last Edit: September 25, 2012, 01:06:15 AM by HabteSelassie »

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.

I lost a "bet" (I have to use the phrase "bears on fire" in a short story for a writing class) on that Packers loss.

I wonder what the reaction was like in Vegas.

ESPN had a headline article which pointed at that nationwide there was a shift of 150-250 MILLION dollars because of that play. Vegas says they took a modest lost of 15 MILLION, but some numbers suggest 1 BILLION worldwide. Like I said, Sunday let alone Monday was Tim Donaghy moment for the NFL. All bets are off literally. At the end of the day, I never believed in sports and there is little integrity. For me, its a delightful distraction and a very social thing. I got reignited into basketball the year my grandpops passed away and I started teaching. At school the kids were all pumped because the Lakers had just won the championship and were chasing a repeat. By the play-offs LA was on top and my grandfather was on his way out. Just like at work, the entire hospital staff and visitors alike were all into it, high-fives all around. I was sucked in by the sheer social value, the community building. The gambling and politics and other vices are ugly enough, but community is nice. I had walked away from the Tim Donaghy scandal when it became obvious much of it was more theater than honest competition, but I like movies and I read novels, so that is fine with me. The NFL is always been MORE sociable as America's game and also a bit harder to see the strings like a Tim Burton movie. Well, alas, Sunday Night and Monday Night we saw it happen. By the way, the Baltimore kick was fair, but several other calls were questionable in both directions, and I also think that the Seattle TD was good, but there were several other things wrong with it. The whistles I've seen have been in all the games I've watched have been TEN times more laughable than anything I've ever seen in the NBA.. I can only hope we can keep it community oriented, for example this has been international outrage slipping into national news in between the UN meetings and presidential campaigns

stay blessed,habte selassie

« Last Edit: September 25, 2012, 10:21:10 PM by HabteSelassie »

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"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

But it's still sad to see so many of people treat sports like it's a religion, with false prostrations and all. There's so many people that believe in sports when at the end of the day it's a game, but yet we pour billions of dollars into it. There is part of me that does feel sports, in general, is a total waste of time. You invest all of these emotions into a team only to get your hopes up when playoff dreams are dashed. It's like being a Ravens fan is some form of sadism, you know?

I just have trouble finding a really great argument on why sports are so important, because they aren't.

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“There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.”

But it's still sad to see so many of people treat sports like it's a religion, with false prostrations and all. There's so many people that believe in sports when at the end of the day it's a game, but yet we pour billions of dollars into it. There is part of me that does feel sports, in general, is a total waste of time. You invest all of these emotions into a team only to get your hopes up when playoff dreams are dashed. It's like being a Ravens fan is some form of sadism, you know?

I just have trouble finding a really great argument on why sports are so important, because they aren't.

True, in fact I precisely argue with Marxist atheists that religion isn't the opiate of the masses, if anything religion makes people think and talk too much, no, the true opiate of the masses is the arena and the circuit that Saint Augustine warned us about..

And there is a lot of money, but I was just griping about the Space Shuttle the other day until it flew over my house, and then I saw LA as a community, something we generally only reserve for riots and earthquakes. It was a beautiful day to see MILLIONS of people suddenly and joyfully on the same page. Then I reflected on my entire life under the Space Shuttle, and how while it was ridiculously expensive (which is indeed why its been scrapped) that it was always an inspiring thing for Americans, adults and children alike. I realized that considering how hard it is to form communities over anything, that I suppose it is worth even BILLIONS of dollars. After all, we also spend BILLIONS of dollars fighting wars which destroy communities, so in the long arc the Space Shuttle is really not all the bad. Could we have spent the money on the poor? Yes, but we will always have the poor, but we will not always have our fragile sense of community. I guess the same is true with the NFL or the NBA, yes, it consumes BILLIONS of dollars, but it also generates many thousands and thousands of jobs for folks, and whats more, really is part of our American culture and sense of building an American community.

And yes, as a Ravens fan who was initially growing up a Browns fan (I followed Art to Baltimore out of loyalty and respect for him) I can say yes, it can be very defeating and depressing. Yes, I was a grown man crying in a Guatemalan restaurant last year at the AFC game But it builds character and becomes a wonderful symbol for overcoming struggles and dealing with adversity. I can't tell you how many teachable moments I've had with my students where using sports' analogies and metaphors has made the light bulb moment come on

When you are outside the Ravens, they look like a bunch of thugs. My friend just said it best last night, he loves the Ravens all the more the positiveness and integrity that team has as a team. They play ruff football to be sure, but its not personal. They are community oriented in Baltimore, they are even very spiritual about their approach. This is actually what attracts a lot of Ravens fans like myself to this organization, they like my Atlanta Falcons seem to have a lot of integrity in an NFL full of drama like a soap opera. That is also why I like Lebron James. Yes Ray Lewis has had his troubles, but I've also had mine, so his recovery into a positive direction in the NFL is very remniscent symbolically of struggles like my own to be a better person every day. Sports are indeed TOO important for a lot of people, but believe it or not, its a powerful opportunity to build relationships with total strangers and connect. You'd be surprised how quick you can be talking about last nights basketball or football game to a person at the corner store or the BBQ joint and next thing you know y'all is chatting also about the Virgin Mary

It is up to us as fans, especially Orthodox like you, me, and Troy Polamalu and yes, even Ray Lewis, to be shifting sports into a positive direction as an opportunity to build community. Otherwise it really is just about sleaze and gambling..

stay blessed,habte selassie

« Last Edit: September 25, 2012, 10:41:20 PM by HabteSelassie »

Logged

"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

But it's still sad to see so many of people treat sports like it's a religion, with false prostrations and all. There's so many people that believe in sports when at the end of the day it's a game, but yet we pour billions of dollars into it. There is part of me that does feel sports, in general, is a total waste of time. You invest all of these emotions into a team only to get your hopes up when playoff dreams are dashed. It's like being a Ravens fan is some form of sadism, you know?

I just have trouble finding a really great argument on why sports are so important, because they aren't.

True, in fact I precisely argue with Marxist atheists that religion isn't the opiate of the masses, if anything religion makes people think and talk too much, no, the true opiate of the masses is the arena and the circuit that Saint Augustine warned us about..

And there is a lot of money, but I was just griping about the Space Shuttle the other day until it flew over my house, and then I saw LA as a community, something we generally only reserve for riots and earthquakes. It was a beautiful day to see MILLIONS of people suddenly and joyfully on the same page. Then I reflected on my entire life under the Space Shuttle, and how while it was ridiculously expensive (which is indeed why its been scrapped) that it was always an inspiring thing for Americans, adults and children alike. I realized that considering how hard it is to form communities over anything, that I suppose it is worth even BILLIONS of dollars. After all, we also spend BILLIONS of dollars fighting wars which destroy communities, so in the long arc the Space Shuttle is really not all the bad. Could we have spent the money on the poor? Yes, but we will always have the poor, but we will not always have our fragile sense of community. I guess the same is true with the NFL or the NBA, yes, it consumes BILLIONS of dollars, but it also generates many thousands and thousands of jobs for folks, and whats more, really is part of our American culture and sense of building an American community.

And yes, as a Ravens fan who was initially growing up a Browns fan (I followed Art to Baltimore out of loyalty and respect for him) I can say yes, it can be very defeating and depressing. Yes, I was a grown man crying in a Guatemalan restaurant last year at the AFC game But it builds character and becomes a wonderful symbol for overcoming struggles and dealing with adversity. I can't tell you how many teachable moments I've had with my students where using sports' analogies and metaphors has made the light bulb moment come on

When you are outside the Ravens, they look like a bunch of thugs. My friend just said it best last night, he loves the Ravens all the more the positiveness and integrity that team has as a team. They play ruff football to be sure, but its not personal. They are community oriented in Baltimore, they are even very spiritual about their approach. This is actually what attracts a lot of Ravens fans like myself to this organization, they like my Atlanta Falcons seem to have a lot of integrity in an NFL full of drama like a soap opera. That is also why I like Lebron James. Yes Ray Lewis has had his troubles, but I've also had mine, so his recovery into a positive direction in the NFL is very remniscent symbolically of struggles like my own to be a better person every day. Sports are indeed TOO important for a lot of people, but believe it or not, its a powerful opportunity to build relationships with total strangers and connect. You'd be surprised how quick you can be talking about last nights basketball or football game to a person at the corner store or the BBQ joint and next thing you know y'all is chatting also about the Virgin Mary

It is up to us as fans, especially Orthodox like you, me, and Troy Polamalu and yes, even Ray Lewis, to be shifting sports into a positive direction as an opportunity to build community. Otherwise it really is just about sleaze and gambling..

stay blessed,habte selassie

As someone who is fundamentally opposed to NASA and completely disinterested in professional sports, I nevertheless nominate this for Post of the Month! Profound arguments conveyed with literary beauty and Christian grace. Well done Habte!

Selam

« Last Edit: September 26, 2012, 03:42:55 AM by Gebre Menfes Kidus »

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""Love is a dangerous thing. It will crush you if you trust it. But without it you can never be whole. Love crucifies, but love saves. We will either be saved together with love, or damned alone without it." Selam, +GMK+

I was really pulling for them. It would have been fun to see the Pirates, Nationals (ehhh ), A's, and Orioles all in the playoffs.

Also, it would have been fun to have a 1991 NLCS rematch this year!

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Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.

The brother is free to his opinions, ones which I until recently very strongly agreed with. Why spend so much money on looking into outerspace when we've got more than enough mysteries on Earth to deal with! Plus, never forget that it is NASA which gave birth to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile System, or wait, do you think all that Apollo stuff was just for fun

As I posted, I've come to change my feelings about NASA as I've seen the community building effect it has, but that doesn't negate the reality that in our budget hawk environment NASA costs more annually then a lot of other crucially important social programs. If it comes to splitting the baby, I'm with brother Gebre Menfes Kidus on this one, our priorities should value people above fanciful intellectual pursuits and technological marvels.

stay blessed,habte selassie

Logged

"Yet stand aloof from stupid questionings and geneologies and strifes and fightings about law, for they are without benefit and vain." Titus 3:10

Four. Falcons and Ravens back East, Raiders and Niners in the West. Who of these am I diehard about? The Baltimore Ravens. Who do I really just dig all around, the Atlanta Falcons. Who did I grow up on but doesn't win enough to be worth investing too much into? The Chokeland Raiders. Who is simply on fire the past two seasons and brings back nostalgia from the 1990s for me? The 49erz.

In NBA its just Heat and Thunder, but I'm born and raised in LA, so I jump on and off the bandwagon when it suits me.